Face The Music
by we built sandcastles
Summary: It is 2011 and the boy band craze is back in a big way. Three music executives discover four teenagers at a Toledo mall and form a hugely successful girl group to rival the biggest boy bands and take the music world by storm. Troubletones AU, some Brittana but not a huge focus. Rated T for now (some swearing), may become M.
1. Chapter One: Cattle Call

**Chapter One: Cattle Call**

_**Do you like to sing and dance? Do you have the X-Factor? We are looking for a talented group of teenage girls to perform at local events. If you are between 15 and 19 years of age, please prepare a song of your choice and come to Franklin Park Mall on October 19**__**th**__**.**_

_October 16__th__, 2011. Cleveland, Ohio. _

Sixteen-year-old Mercedes Jones had been staring at the notice on her church bulletin board for the past five minutes. Her mother was engaged in conversation with the reverend, and her father and grandmother had caught up with some of her father's football buddies from high school. She'd been asked to stay back to get some songs off the reverend to learn for next Sunday. Everyone at church knew Mercedes Jones was the best singer, and one day she'd be a huge star, on the radio, winning awards. Mercedes didn't talk about it much, but it was her dream to be a professional singer and have everyone in the world know who she was.

Mercedes wasn't naïve. She knew the flier was probably just for a local show and nothing more, but it looked like an opportunity for her to get her name out there. She was a junior in high school and was maintaining a 4.0 GPA, and on top of that there was church and all of her commitments with the choir, not to mention her high school show choir, which had made it to Nationals in New York last spring. She didn't have a lot of opportunities to do anything with her music outside of school and church.

As she read the flier again, a voice interrupted her. "Yo 'Cedes!"

Mercedes turned around and saw Shane Tinsley. Shane went to her school, was a wide receiver on the school football team, and sang bass in her church choir. She'd been to the movies with him a few times and got along well with him, but she wouldn't have called them 'official' just yet.

She smiled at him and he asked, "What are you reading?" As she pointed out the flier, he added. "Singing auditions? You should go for it."

Mercedes smiled. "I'm thinking about it. Would you come with me?"

Shane laughed. "Think they just want girls," he joked. "Sure. Your parents going to let you?"

Mercedes sighed. She knew her mother would probably agree to it, and her dad was fine with her singing in church, but she didn't know how he'd feel about his daughter going down to the mall for a singing audition during school time. "Yeah, that might be a problem."

"Come on 'Cedes, your dad doesn't need to know," Shane said, somewhat impatiently. "Just tell your mama. She'll let you go. What's one day of school?"

"Why does it feel like you're more into this than me?" Mercedes asked, one eyebrow raised.

Shane laughed and put an arm around Mercedes' shoulder. "Cause I want everyone to know my girl's famous."

Mercedes laughed at him and gave him a side-eye. "I never said I was _your_ girl, Shane."

~.~

* * *

_October 18__th__, 2011. Cincinnati, Ohio._

Quinn Fabray had found the flier advertised at her local supermarket. At sixteen, she was her school's cheerleading captain – the first sophomore to be made captain in eight years, dating Finn Hudson, the quarterback, and was expected to win homecoming queen _and _prom queen. She was constantly being asked to prom. All the girls at school wanted to be her and all the boys wanted to date her, but she didn't have many close friends. The friends she did have knew that she was a trained ballet dancer and loved to sing. She didn't think she was the best singer, but her parents and people at her church would tell her how lovely of a voice she had. The opportunity at the mall would give her a chance to sing and dance like she wanted to without resorting to lowering her social standing by joining _show choir _of all things.

She had planned to go to the open audition, but she couldn't go alone. It was the day before the audition, and she was desperate to get her best friend, Santana Lopez, to go with her.

"Come on," Quinn begged, trying not to let their history teacher hear their conversation. "It sounds like a good opportunity. We could get _famous!_"

Santana shook her head and looked back at her history textbook. "I've got better things to do than hang around the mall all day, Q."

"Okay, you're always skipping school whenever you feel like it and now the one time _I _want to skip school, you're not interested?" Quinn asked, incredulously.

Unlike Quinn, Santana hated school and couldn't wait to get out. To everyone else, they seemed like polar opposites. Santana was perfectly capable of skipping school by herself, but for some reason, Quinn's ideas seemed to always get her in trouble. Her mother frequently told her that if she spent as much time on schoolwork as she did going along with Quinn's schemes, she'd have a 4.0 and a scholarship to every Ivy League.

"I never said I was _going_ to school," she replied. "I just said I'm not going to a freaking _mall_ in Toledo. How are we even getting there?"

Quinn sulked. Usually it was easier to get Santana to go along with her plans. "Finn can drive us. And I'll do your math homework," she said, desperately. She knew it was pathetic, but it was the one thing Santana might agree to. She knew math was Santana's worst, most hated subject. "I'll do your math homework for a month."

Quinn carefully watched Santana react to the offer. She watched her friend quickly avert her eyes to their teacher, feign concentration, and then look back at her and frown. "You're actually _good_ at math and I'm practically failing junior high-level algebra. You have to make it believable."

"Of course," Quinn replied, trying not to smile too much. "You act like I've never done your homework before. So, it's a deal?"

Santana nodded, rolling her eyes in frustration. She knew that she needed to stop going along with all of Quinn's weird schemes. "Fine. But I'm not singing or dancing or nothing. And you have to buy me lunch tomorrow."

Quinn didn't say anything. She just giggled softly and pretended to listen to their history teacher.

~.~

* * *

_October 19__th__, 2011. Toledo, Ohio._

"Mom, do we have to wait around with you and Tiffany?"

"Huh?" Susan Pierce, a harried, exhausted woman of forty-three, struggled to balance the bag of groceries in her left hand, while her eight-year-old daughter Tiffany pulled her towards the mall play equipment. She could hear her sixteen-year-old daughter Brittany say something to her, but she was focused on trying to get her younger child to her doctor's appointment on time.

"Mom," Brittany said, impatiently. "Did you hear what I said?"

"What?" Susan replied.

"Me and Sugar were going to go look around." Brittany said, hopefully.

Sugar, Brittany's cousin, nodded enthusiastically. "We can make our own way home," she said. "We'll even bring dinner home."

Susan sighed and just nodded in agreement.

"Thanks Aunt Susan!"

"Yeah, thanks Mom!"

"Be back by seven, okay girls? Don't talk to boys! And don't get into any trouble!" Susan yelled out. It was too late. The older girls had gone, and she was left with Tiffany and the groceries.

Brittany turned to Sugar and asked, "Do you think she thinks we were serious about bringing dinner home?"

Sugar wasn't paying attention. She'd noticed something Brittany hadn't, a crowd of girls around their age gathered on the ground floor of the mall. She nudged Brittany and pointed it out to her.

Brittany nodded. "Must be some kind of concert."

"You think we should go and check it out?" Sugar asked. "I mean, we can always go shopping after."

Brittany just shrugged and nodded, just grateful that she and Sugar didn't have to tag along with Tiffany, her mother and the groceries. The two of them bolted down the escalator to see what the commotion was. They saw girls lining up in front of a desk. Some sort of contest, Brittany thought. They came closer to the crowd and saw a young man with blond hair and glasses handing out wristbands.

"You girls want to audition?" The man asked, grabbing two green wristbands. Sugar and Brittany nodded as he handed them their wristbands. He grinned and said, "Good luck."

~.~

* * *

Mercedes and Shane had camped out in front of the mall and were among the front of the line. Sitting a few spaces behind them were Santana, who had been browbeaten into accepting a wristband, and Quinn.

"Okay, now you owe me lunch _and _dinner." Santana said, scowling.

Quinn laughed. "Will you lighten up? We don't know anyone here. You can sing a bit and then you'll never see any of these people again."

Before Santana could respond, one of the organisers came up to the group and said, "We're ready for you guys. Get into line, make sure you've got your wristbands on, and be ready to sing."

"Good luck, 'Cedes!" Shane said proudly, giving his friend a hug.

The first group, which included Mercedes, Santana and Quinn, got into their line and stood in front of the desk, where a man and a woman sat. The very first girl to sing was an eighteen-year-old named Madison, who sang a song from _Cats _and was dreadful. The next two girls weren't much better. Then it was Mercedes' turn. She took in a deep breath before stepping on the marker, taking the microphone from the previous girl and introducing herself.

"My name is Mercedes Jones," she said confidently. "I'm sixteen and I sing at my church. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio and I'm a junior in high school."

The man behind the desk smiled. "That's great, Mercedes. Whenever you're ready."

Mercedes started to sing, and the crowd became silent.

"_Some day, I'm gonna do you wrong. Some day I'll leave you blue. Some day I'm gonna steal your heart. Some day I'll rip it right in two …"_

As she finished, the crowd roared with applause. The two people behind the desk gave her a standing ovation. "Now that's what we like to see." The woman, whose nametag read 'Shelby', said, beaming with pride.

The girl after Mercedes was a tall, redheaded girl named Bianca. She sang about two words before her voice cracked with nerves and she ran off the stage.

Quinn and Santana were the last two in the line. Santana whispered, "good luck" to Quinn as she stepped forward and took the microphone from the previous girl.

"Hi everyone," Quinn said, smiling. "I'm Quinn, I'm sixteen, I'm from Cincinnati, I'm a sophomore in high school and I'm a cheerleader."

As Quinn started to sing her chosen song, 'Does Your Mother Know' by Diana Ross, Santana's hands started to quiver with nerves. She began contemplating running off the stage and yelling at Quinn that she could do her own stupid math homework. The only thing stopping her was that her legs were somehow cemented to the stage floor and wouldn't move. She hadn't registered that Quinn had finished singing until the man whose nametag read 'Will' called out "Next!"

Santana stepped forward, took the microphone, tried to remember how to breathe and tried to make sure no one could hear how fast her heart was beating.

"Hi," Shelby said. "Do you want to tell me your name?"

"Santana Lopez."

"Hi Santana," Shelby said. She had a friendly, comforting demeanour that made Santana feel marginally less anxious. "Want to tell us a bit about yourself?"

Santana nodded. "Um, I'm fifteen, I'm a sophomore and I'm from Cincinnati."

It was Will's turn to speak. "Do you get out and sing much?"

Santana shook her head. "No," she said, slightly embarrassed. "I don't really sing much in front of people."

"Cool," Will said, intrigued. "Well, there's a first time for everything. Whenever you're ready."

It soon dawned on Santana that she hadn't actually thought about what to sing, or practised anything. She tried to remember the lyrics to the last song she'd listened to, 'Weak' by SWV. It was an obscure choice, but it was the only song she could think of.

"_Cause my heart starts beating triple time, with thoughts of loving you on my mind. Can't figure out just what to do when the cause and cure is you."_

When Santana stopped singing, Will spoke up. "Why did you stop?" He asked. "We were enjoying that. Keep going."

"_I get so weak at the knees I can hardly speak. I lose all control, and something takes over me in a daze and it's so amazing, it's not a phase, it knocks me off of my feet. Can't explain why your loving makes me weak,"_ Santana sang, still trying not to show nerves. "Sorry, that's all I know."

As everyone applauded, Will and Shelby both stood. "Good stuff. Group One's going to be a hard act to follow," Shelby said, smiling. "If y'all want to go and get food, that's fine, but we need everyone back here at three PM sharp."

As Santana tried to regain composure, Quinn gestured to Mercedes to join them; she knew Will and Shelby had liked the girl's audition and decided that Mercedes was someone who she and Santana should befriend. Mercedes smiled, waved at Shane, who had gone to get coffee and was standing at the kiosk line, and went to shake the two Cincinnati girls' hands.

"I didn't think anyone else besides me listened to SWV," Mercedes said, grinning. "You girls got good taste."

"Thanks," Quinn said. "You were really good too. Those guys really liked you. We're getting lunch if you want to join us. Santana made me bribe her with free food to come here today."

Mercedes frowned and turned to Santana. "Okay, you sing like _that_ and she had to bribe you?"

Before Santana could respond, a short, brunette girl wearing a pencil skirt and a turtleneck sweater came up to them and interrupted them.

"Hello ladies, isn't this just fun? I just _love_ auditions. It's excellent practice for when I'm a professional Broadway actress."

Santana frowned while Quinn and Mercedes looked at each other and stifled giggles. The other girl, oblivious to their bewilderment, continued to talk about herself. "Anyway, I'm Rachel Berry. My fathers are lecturers at the Conservatory in Cincinnati. I'm hoping that this experience will lead to wonderful opportunities in the theatre."

"Yes, I'm sure it will." Santana said, sarcastically, under her breath.

"Anyway, I should get back to my line. I believe my group is next," Rachel said, excitedly, in one breath. "All the best to you."

Rachel ran enthusiastically back to her line. Quinn and Mercedes just looked at each other for a good minute before Santana broke the silence. "The fuck was that?"

Quinn just shrugged and said, "Whatever, let's go for lunch."

Mercedes and Santana both shook their heads and smirked. "Hell no, we're not going for lunch yet." Mercedes said. "We got to see this." Santana nodded in agreement, and Quinn just rolled her eyes. Her main priority was just to get food, although she also wanted to watch this girl's audition and see if her skills matched her confidence.

The girls stood near the crowd and watched as the three girls to the left of Rachel went up one at a time to sing. Then, it was Rachel's turn. She stepped forward, took the microphone, and said, "Hello, my name is Rachel Berry and I am from Lima, Ohio. I am fifteen years of age, I am a member of a national championship-winning show choir, and I aspire to be a star on Broadway. I would like to dedicate my performance today to Ms Barbra Streisand, who is my inspiration."

Rachel started to sing a song none of the girls could recognise. She had a good voice but sang in an overdramatic fashion that was hard for any of them to watch with a straight face. Quinn kept poking Santana in the ribs to try and get her to not laugh, while Santana just stared at the floor, as if looking at Rachel's wild hand gestures would force her to lose her composure. Shane came over, quietly introduced himself to Quinn and Santana, and handed Mercedes her decaf frappucino.

"So, is this girl doing some sort of opera here?" Shane asked in a low voice, causing Mercedes to elbow him in the ribs.

After Rachel finished singing, she held onto the microphone and said, "Thank you everyone, it really is a pleasure to perform this song in front of such a wonderful audience."

"You're welcome, Berry." Santana said, softly, completely deadpan, making Mercedes snort into her coffee with laughter. She turned to Quinn and said, "Come on, let's get food."

~.~

* * *

It was 2:00, and Brittany and Sugar were at the front of the last group of the day. Neither of them had realised they would have to sing, and they hadn't prepared anything until the first group had performed and they'd realised what they had signed up for. A third person had joined the judges and was sitting behind the panel desk. The newcomer looked younger, with brown, curly hair and a nametag that read 'Jesse'.

Sugar was first. She wished she'd known about this sooner so she could put thought into her outfit and song choice. She stepped up to the mark and took the microphone from one of the mall security guards. "Hi, um, I'm Sugar Motta," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm seventeen and I live in Jerusalem. I'm a senior, and I'm here with my cousin Brittany. We're both on the dance team at our school."

The new guy, Jesse, nodded with interest. "Fascinating," he said, coolly. "Could the two of you dance for everyone?"

Brittany and Sugar looked at each other awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess," Brittany said. "Have you got music for us?"

Shelby nodded. "Of course. Both of you can sing first and then dance for us."

"Okay," Sugar said, before taking a deep breath and starting to sing. "_I feel so untouched and I want you so much and I just can't resist you. It's not enough to say that I missed you. I feel so untouched and I want you so much and I just can't forget you, going crazy from the moment I met you._"

As everyone applauded, Sugar handed the microphone to Brittany, giving her a hi-five. Brittany was less nervous than Sugar. She stepped forward and said, "Hi, I'm Brittany, I'm a sophomore and I just turned sixteen yesterday. I do show choir and dance team, and I'm head cheerleader at my school. And people tell me I'm good at math."

Quinn, who had been quietly sipping her latte and mentally judging all of the other entrants, sat up in her chair. She was intrigued and almost a little threatened by this girl. Santana leant over to Quinn and whispered, "Do you know her?"

Quinn shook her head, and the two of them just watched Brittany sing Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own'. Santana thought Brittany had the longest legs and bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Usually she was irrationally envious of people who were good at math, but Brittany at least seemed like she was funny about it.

"_I'm giving it my all but I'm not the guy you're taking home. I keep dancing on my own._"

Brittany passed the microphone to the girl next to her, and Jesse pressed a button on his phone. "We're not letting you off the hook about that dance."

Brittany and Sugar looked at each other and started to dance to the track Jesse had put on. It was a hip-hop track with no lyrics, but it was all they needed. The whole crowd roared with applause, except for Rachel Berry, who sulked and whispered to her male friend the entire time. Brittany and Sugar did backflips and impressive dance moves Quinn had only ever seen in the _Step Up_ movies Santana had always dragged her to.

They finished and everyone cheered, including Shelby, Will and Jesse, while Sugar and Brittany flippantly curtsied. Jesse said, "That's going to be a hard act to follow."

Unfortunately for the next girl, Jasmine, it wasn't meant to be. She was fifteen and from Akron, with a stage mother worthy of _Toddlers and Tiaras_. The dark-haired girl looked mortified as her mother yelled out, "Jazzy, just like we practised, okay?"

Jasmine started to sing. She had chosen to sing 'A Whole New World'. Her voice wasn't terrible, but she sang in a childlike, pageant style, and her mannerisms were awkward. She didn't know what to do with her hands and left the stage almost in tears after she had finished singing.

Mercedes looked at Shane and sighed from secondhand embarrassment, relieved her own mother had stayed home.

After the last few girls went up one at a time to sing, Shelby took the microphone and said, "Well done everyone. If we can get everyone back here in an hour, we'll make some announcements."

~.~

* * *

"So," Shelby started, holding a stack of application forms and a laptop. She, Will and Jesse had decided to meet in the mall office to decide which girls would be part of the chosen group. "What do you guys think?"

"Definitely some potential here," Will replied. "We had a few train wrecks, but I can think of a few kids we could put on a show with. Jesse, what are your thoughts?"

Jesse inhaled, slowly. "Well," he said. "I watched all the girls. What did you all think of Rachel from Lima? I could definitely see her on Broadway, or off-Broadway, say, in a revival of _Cats_?"

Shelby shook her head. "I don't see a team player there," she said. "Don't get me wrong, she's a great performer, but I don't know if I see her for this. We're looking for kids to be in a girl group, not the cast of _Fame_."

Will nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's put her on the maybe pile for now, but I'm not convinced. I think we can all agree on Brittany and Sugar, though."

"Definitely," Shelby said, enthusiastically. "I don't know if they were the best singers, but, you know, they both have that _star _potential."

"I think if we're talking about star potential, we have to talk about Mercedes." Will said. Jesse and Shelby both nodded.

"If we're being honest, she set the bar and I don't think any other group quite met the bar until we got to that last group with Sugar and Brittany," Jesse said. "What are your thoughts on Quinn? Not sure if she was up to scratch vocally, but with some coaching I think she'd be workable."

Shelby shook her head. "Quinn got upstaged by her friend who'd never sung in front of anyone and forgot the words."

Jesse laughed. He took the pile of applications from Shelby and rummaged through them until he came to the one he was looking for. He scanned the sheet of paper, grimacing at the rushed, illegible handwriting. "Okay, so Santana Lopez, fifteen, lives in the projects in Cincinnati, raised by single mother and grandmother and apparently can't spell," he said, smirking. "I don't know, I mean, great voice and all, but that one's going to be a complete train wreck. My money's on Quinn."

"I don't think we can have Brittany _and _Quinn," Will said. "And Brittany definitely outperformed Quinn today. Did either of you like any of the other candidates? What about Jasmine?"

Shelby shook her head fervently. "I'm not dealing with any more fucking pushy stage moms, Schuester," she retorted. Jesse nodded in agreement with her. "We're trying to create a girl group here, not the next pretty pageant princess. I'll take Santana any day over that. You can _teach_ stage presence and speaking skills. You can't teach raw talent like that to just _anyone_."

Will hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Fine. Should we be writing down who we're going with?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Shelby agreed, taking a pen and a blank piece of paper. "So, we're all in agreement?"

Will and Jesse looked at each other and nodded. After all, Shelby had more years of experience in the industry than both of them, and they trusted that she knew what she was doing.

~.~

* * *

At 3:15, Will, Shelby and Jesse stood on stage. Shelby held a microphone and concealed the list of names in an envelope. The crowd had thinned considerably. Jasmine and her mother had already left. Brittany and Sugar had giggled as they overheard her mother bemoan her daughter succumbing to stage fright during such an important audition.

"I expect they're making us wait to create tension," Santana and Quinn overheard Rachel Berry say loudly to her male companion. "It happens all the time on _American Idol_." Rachel was standing right in front of the stage, as though hearing her name announced would be a foregone conclusion.

Shelby switched on the microphone and held it to her face. The audience fell silent as she began to speak. "We want to apologise to you for keeping you waiting," she said. "We know you must be very nervous and excited. But first, we want to congratulate all of you, and thank all of you for coming. It's not easy to sing in front of a crowd of strangers you don't know."

Mercedes gripped Shane's hand tightly. _If they call out my name_, she thought, _I'll go out with him to Six Flags like he asked me the other day_.

Jesse took the microphone from Shelby and announced, "It was a tough call, and we heard a lot of you today, but we've decided on four girls. When you hear your name, can you please step up to the stage. The first girl we've chosen today is Sugar Motta."

Brittany and Sugar both squealed with excitement. Sugar ran gleefully up to the stage and hugged Shelby, Will and Jesse.

"Congratulations Sugar," Will said, grinning. "Okay, so the next girl, I think we can all agree, is a real powerhouse singer. One of the best singers I've ever heard and it's hard to believe we heard this voice for the first time in a mall in Ohio, but I think we can all agree that this girl's a superstar."

Rachel Berry began to move towards the stage, her face glowing as she waited for her name to be called. Will inhaled deeply before saying, "The next girl we've chosen is Mercedes Jones!"

Mercedes hugged Shane and tried to hold back tears of excitement as she leapt for joy towards the stage and then hugged Sugar and all of the judges, repeating "thank you Jesus" over and over. Rachel didn't move from the front of the crowd; after all, even if Mercedes was chosen, she believed there was every possibility that her name could be called. But there was a part of her that was slowly starting to consider that she wasn't going to be one of the four.

Towards the back of the crowd, Quinn was gripping Santana with one hand and crossing her fingers with the other, was praying to every god she knew, even bargaining to wash her dad's car, water her mom's plants for a year and never skip school again if her name was called. She was happy for Mercedes, but she wanted to be up on that stage.

It was Jesse's turn to announce the next girl. "The next girl we've chosen made a real impact today. She's a real triple threat. And since we picked her cousin, it wouldn't be right to leave her behind, especially so close to her birthday. Come up here, Brittany Pierce!"

As soon as Jesse called Brittany's name, Quinn's heart sank. She knew that they wouldn't pick _two _blonde cheerleaders, that if Brittany was chosen, she wouldn't be. But she was hopeful, and a tiny part of her thought that there was still a possibility, so she still gripped onto her best friend, who was trying to avert her eyes from Brittany's long legs and perfectly white teeth.

Shelby took the microphone for the last time and said, "I only have one name left to call. But before I do that, I just want you all to know that you're all talented, and your dream doesn't end here. There will always be opportunities for you if you look for them, and by coming here today, you've already started your journey. With that said, it gives me great pleasure to welcome to the stage Santana Lopez from Cincinnati!"

It took Santana almost a minute to register that her name had been called and she needed to get up and go onto the stage. She looked apologetically towards Quinn, who was gesturing to her to go up on stage.

"Quinn, I …"

"Stop," Quinn said. "If it's not me, I'm glad it's you and not that Rachel."

Santana laughed. "Are you sure?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, got up and dragged Santana towards the stage. "Get up on stage! And now you owe _me _lunch."

Everything became blurry. Santana avoided looking at anyone directly in the eye, especially Rachel Berry, who was still glued to the front of the stage. She stepped up on stage, still barely registering what had just happened, and allowed herself to be hugged by Brittany, who was almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"Thanks everyone for coming," Will said into the microphone. "We hope you all had a great day."

Most people started to leave. Once the majority of the crowd had gone, Shelby and Jesse turned their attention to the four girls in front of them. "We're going to need you all to stay behind for a bit and just fill out some forms. We'll mail some contracts out to you within the next week," Shelby said. "No need to worry about them, though. If there's anything there you don't understand, you can have your lawyer look at them, or you can always call me."

Will handed each of the four girls a business card, a pen and a form to fill out. "We just need your name, address and the contact details of a parent or guardian."

All four girls looked at each other, then back at Will, and took the paperwork. Quinn found Shane again and went to stand next to him to point out that Rachel Berry was still there. Jesse was gathering all of the paperwork and notes from the other contestants and Rachel had caught his eye.

"Can I help you?" Jesse asked.

Rachel smiled and said, "Yes, I am glad you asked that. I was wondering, could you please give me any feedback as to why I wasn't chosen today? It is highly important in helping me achieve my dreams of stardom."

"Right, well, uh," Jesse started, looking around for Will or Shelby to help him out. When he saw that they were both busy, he turned back to Rachel and said in a calm, stoic voice, "I just want you to know that I think you're incredibly talented. If I were casting _Funny Girl_ right now, you would easily be my choice for Fanny. In fact, you would easily be my choice for _any _musical. Unfortunately, today wasn't your day, but I just want you to know that …"

"Jesse," Shelby interrupted. "I need your signature on some documents."

_Thank you, Jesus_, Jesse thought. He turned to Rachel and said, "Anyway, lovely to meet you and all the best."

Rachel, satisfied with Jesse's boost to her ego, went to say goodbye to Quinn and Shane, who looked at each other, confused, and just shrugged as the other girl skipped off to her friend, while Quinn and Shane stood waiting for the other girls to finish up so they could all go home.

Shelby looked at the four girls on stage, gave each of them a quick hug and said, "I'll be in touch with all of you and your families soon. Well done today. I think big things are going to happen for all of you. Now go home and get some sleep tonight."

As the four girls went off stage, Brittany went over to where Quinn and Shane were standing. "Quinn Fabray, right?" Brittany asked. Quinn nodded. "State cheer championship. Last year. Our coach made us do an obstacle course cause your team beat us."

Sugar laughed. "She hasn't stopped talking about it since last year."

"Guys, we've got a long drive," Mercedes said, taking her bag from Shane. "Good to meet all of you. See you all soon, yeah?"

As the other girls waved goodbye to Mercedes and Shane, Quinn turned to Brittany and Sugar and said, "My boyfriend's driving us home if you guys want a lift."

Brittany and Sugar looked at each other, shrugged and said, "Sure."

The four girls waited out the front of the mall as Finn's Chevy pickup pulled in. As they got in the car, Finn asked, "So, what happened? How was it?"

"It was good," Quinn said. "Lots of waiting around and stage moms and stuff."

"How'd you go?"

"Santana got picked. I didn't." Quinn replied, trying not to sound bitter or disappointed, especially not in front of Sugar and Brittany, who they'd just met.

"Oh," Finn replied. He could tell Quinn was trying to be happy for her friend, even though she clearly wished she was chosen. He looked up at the rearview mirror and said, "Santana, that's awesome. I didn't know you sang."

"Thanks," Santana replied. She looked at Quinn and asked, "Do you want me to do your math homework for a month?"

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "_You _want to do _my _math homework? No, it's fine. You can just buy me eggs and bacon every morning instead."

"Eggs and bacon?" Sugar asked, yawning.

"Well yeah, if I were on a desert island and could only have one type of food, I'd have eggs and bacon." Quinn replied, while the others laughed. They approached Brittany's house and let her and Sugar out. Brittany and Sugar thanked Finn for the lift and waved goodbye to the car as Finn drove off.

"Crap," Sugar said. "We forgot to bring dinner home."

Brittany shook her head. "It's fine, she won't remember."

"What are we going to say?" Sugar asked. "I mean, what just happened?"

Brittany frowned. "I'm trying to get my head around the whole thing."

"Do you really think they're going to send us contracts and stuff?"

"I don't know," Brittany said, shrugging. "Worst thing that'll happen is they don't send anything and it was just a bit of fun, right?"

Before Sugar could say anything else, Susan Pierce came outside. "Katie Jordan's mom rang. Told me you two won some singing and dancing contest today," she said, with a smile. "Apparently you two are famous now. Come inside and tell me all about it. We're having lasagne."

~.~

* * *

"Honey I am _so _proud of you!" Bernice Jones exclaimed, hugging her daughter. "I got everyone to come and pray for you today!"

The last thing Mercedes had expected to come home to was her entire church congregation. "Thanks Mama," she said. "But it was mostly Shane's idea."

"Was not!" Shane protested, grabbing a slice of pizza off the Mrs Jones' dining table. "She was amazing, Mrs Jones."

Reverend Byron, a tall, energetic and handsome man, got up off the couch and came over to Mercedes. "I always knew you were going to do great things, Miss Jones," he said. "Just don't forget us all when you're a big star, now, won't you?"

Mercedes shook her head. "Of course not!"

Reverend Byron smiled. "You're a good kid. I'll keep praying for you, okay?"

"Yeah, we all will." Matt Rutherford, a senior at Mercedes' school and a football teammate of Shane's, piped up.

Mercedes saw her dad sitting in his favourite armchair and went over to him. "You all right Dad?"

Malcolm Jones looked at his daughter and nodded. "Is this really what you want to do? You know, with your life?"

Mercedes nodded. "Dad, I know you want me to go to college and everything, and maybe one day I will, but I'm good at this, and I want to at least give it a try."

Malcolm exhaled slowly. "I still think you should get an education," he said. "But nobody sings like Mercedes Jones round here. Just don't forget who you are, though. Who you are, why you sing, who you sing for, right 'Cedes?"

"Right." Mercedes answered, not quite realising that the advice she'd been given in that was what she would hold on to for the rest of her life.

~.~

* * *

"What?" Quinn asked her boyfriend, who had stayed parked outside the housing complex where Santana lived for a good minute. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you seem upset, Quinn," Finn answered. "I know you're _saying_ you're fine, but _damn_. You're allowed to be pissed off. It was _your _idea, everyone who knows you, like _really _knows you, they know you sing, and then Santana sings for the first time in front of people and all of a sudden these guys think she's better than you?"

"Okay, fine, I'm pissed off," Quinn snapped. She took a deep breath. Finn placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she continued to say, "I'm happy for her and all, but I just wish it was both of us, you know?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I get that. That'd be like, I don't know, if Puckerman got into the Buckeyes and I didn't. You have a good time anyway?"

"Sure," Quinn said. "This girl did a full on opera thing and came up to us and spoke like the freaking Queen of England." Finn chuckled.

"Want to come over to my place? My mom's not home." Finn asked. Quinn nodded and smiled. He was a good guy.

~.~

* * *

Santana turned the key in the front door of her family's apartment, worn out and still confused by the events of the day. She walked inside and hugged her abuela, who was watching television in the living room.

"Ma, I'm home!" She called out.

Maribel Lopez was standing in the kitchen, arms crossed, still in her uniform from her job at the laundromat. "Where the _fuck_ have you been?" She asked, furiously. "School called. Said you didn't turn up today, and you already missed two days last week. Said if it becomes a habit, we're looking at a court date."

Santana just stared at the floor, not wanting to look at her mother's disappointed eyes. "Nowhere."

Maribel sighed. "Either you were _at_ school or you weren't, Santana. How many _fucking _times have I got to tell you?"

"It doesn't matter, okay?" Santana replied, still staring at the floor.

"Of _course_ it fucking matters!" Maribel snapped, almost near tears. "Look around you. You want to spend the rest of your life here? Working some dead-end job, cause you got no education like your fucking_ mother_, living in _this_ dump? If you get a court date, you're fucked! I can't afford no lawyer."

"Ma, I'm sorry …". Santana started, hating hearing her mother cry.

Maribel cut her daughter off, shaking her head ardently, and she exclaimed, "You need something to look forward to, Santana."

As Maribel went back to the kitchen to check on their dinner, Santana pondered her mother's words and looked outside the window at their neighbourhood, at the logo of her mother's work uniform, at her grandmother, still focused on the television.

"Ma, I _have_ something to look forward to," she whispered, confidently, to no one. "I'm getting out of here. I'm getting us all out of here. I'm going to make you proud."

~.~

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter. Just want to stress that this is an AU. I used to watch a lot of VH1 _Behind the Music_ episodes back in the day, so this is loosely based on those. There will be some Brittana but it won't be the main focus of the story.

Re. audition songs, Mercedes sang 'Someday' from the musical _Memphis_, Santana sang 'Weak' by SWV, Sugar sang 'Untouched' by the Veronicas, and Brittany sang 'Dancing On My Own' by Robyn.


	2. Chapter Two: Fine Print

**Chapter Two: Fine Print**

_October 26__th__, 2011. Columbus, Ohio._

"The usual, Ms Corcoran?"

Shelby nodded at the tall, handsome waiter. As the young man smiled, got out his notebook and jotted down Shelby's usual order, Will arrived and sat down.

"Anything for you, sir?" The waiter asked.

"Just coffee, thanks. Black." Will answered, coolly. He turned to Shelby and said, "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was bad."

"It's fine, Schuester," Shelby answered. "You're here now and we need to figure out what we're doing with these kids. You got your guy to write up that contract yet?"

Will nodded. "Contract's all done. We just need to mail it out to the girls and get them to sign it. We might need to do home visits in case some of these kids don't understand legalese."

"You want to go to the projects in Cincinnati?" Shelby asked, in a cool, almost deadpan, tone.

Will shrugged. "Jesse could do it," he suggested. "He's charismatic."

"You want to _Jesse_ to go to the projects in Cincinnati?" Shelby asked, incredulously. "_Jesse_?"

"Shelby, it's _Cincinnati_. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know, Will," Shelby said, as the waiter brought their coffees over. She smiled and thanked him. As he left, she added. "I just want to be involved, you know? Mentor them, oversee them developing as a group."

"Yeah, I get that." Will said, nodding in agreement.

"We need to make sure the girls are on board, and we need to make sure we send the right person to Cincinnati," Shelby said. "Can you organise it for me?"

Will sipped his coffee slowly and nodded. "Jesse will be fine. You have my word on that," he said. He pulled a copy of the contract out of his messenger bag and handed it to Shelby. "Here, read this tonight and let me know if there's any changes we need to make before we send them out."

Shelby smiled. "I'll go over it with my lawyer. You'll hear from her tomorrow."

"Good," Will answered. "I just want to know one thing."

"What's that?"

Will inhaled slowly, and asked, "Why are you so invested in this? These girls, Shelby, you hardly know them. What happens if it crashes and burns?"

Shelby was insistent. "Will, it won't. I know the music industry. This is what the people want, and _we're _going to give it to them."

"I'm just saying," Will said. "You've never been this excited about a new project before."

"Yeah, well, I've never had a project this exciting before." Shelby replied.

Will nodded and sipped his coffee. "That's good. If you're sure about this, then I'm on board, and so is Jesse."

Shelby moved herself closer to Will. "So, I can count on you? You and Jesse?" She asked. "And can we use your house in Atlanta?"

"What do you want with my house?" Will asked.

"We keep them there for six months, get them to live together, practise songs, create the narrative." Shelby said.

"And your house in Orlando is no good because?"

"Street cred, Schuester. We don't want theme park performers. We want them to appeal to the pop crowd _and _the rhythm and blues crowd. Think, like, Destiny's Child, but the new version." Shelby explained.

Will continued to sip his coffee, nodding along to whatever Shelby was saying. He was confused about the process, but he trusted her vision, even if he didn't fully understand it.

"Holly's doing publicity" Shelby said. "I'm waiting on a call from Cassandra July. She's the best vocal coach I know. She knows her shit, she'll look after them."

"Good idea." Will said.

"Will, I've got a really good feeling about this," Shelby said, confidently. "Things are looking up. These four girls from Ohio are going to make a lot of money."

"You know what, Shelby?" Will said, smiling. "I think you're right."

~.~

* * *

_November 4__th__, 2011. Cincinnati, Ohio._

Jesse St James felt out of place in his expensive suit and shoes, walking through the brewery district of Cincinnati. It was certainly different to what he was used to, and he tried to avoid making eye contact with anyone. He was surprised Will and Shelby had asked him to do this, and he'd figured he should consider himself grateful that they'd given him the opportunity. Even though he felt he'd paid his dues with Shelby, he didn't think she trusted him that much. Then again, he didn't think Shelby really trusted anyone, at least when it came to her business. He couldn't remember the last time Shelby, or anyone, really, was this passionate and invigorated about a project.

He mentally rehearsed his spiel at least a hundred times on the way to the housing complex. He'd triple-checked the address with Will and with Shelby before he got there. He walked into the building, kept moving until he found the door with the right number, and knocked loudly until someone answered the door.

He was greeted by a small woman in her mid-to-late thirties, wearing what appeared to be a work uniform. "Can I help you?" The woman asked.

Jesse grinned. _Flash the million-dollar smile_, he thought. "Good afternoon, ma'am," he said, cheerfully. "My name is Jesse St James. I was wondering if I could come in for a chat. It's about Santana."

The woman suddenly became pale. Jesse could tell she was nervous, because she started rambling. "Listen," she said, shakily. "I spoke to her and she knows she has to start going to school and taking this stuff serious. She just got home from there now. She's a good girl. I know she hasn't been to school a lot. Something bad happened last year with some kids from our neighbourhood and it ain't easy, you know? I mean, I'm trying my best but I'm not always there to take her or make sure she goes, my mother lives with us and her English ain't so good. I'm trying to get the money for a lawyer if you need us to go to court …"

Jesse cut the woman off. For a second, he wondered what could possibly be so bad that it would cause a teenage girl to just stop going to school, but he put it in the back of his mind; he was there for business. "Ms Lopez," he said, growing more and more confused by the minute. "I'm not here to take you to court. Can I please come inside? I have an opportunity I think you'll be interested in. I was actually hoping to speak to both of you."

Maribel Lopez breathed a sigh of relief. She gestured for the young man to come inside the apartment, which he did, and offered him a drink, which he accepted gratefully. He took a seat on the couch. An older woman was sitting across from him, drinking coffee. He gave her a polite smile, which she returned. Maribel left the living room for a few moments and returned with Santana, who sat down next to the woman Jesse presumed was her grandmother.

"Ms Lopez," Jesse started, carefully considering his words. "I'll get straight to the point. Your daughter is very talented, and I'm fairly confident that I can make her extremely successful."

Maribel looked at Santana and then at Jesse, frowning. "I'm afraid I don't quite follow."

Jesse handed Maribel one of his business cards, grateful that the printer he ordered them from had sent them out earlier in the week. "I'm here representing Shelby Corcoran. She's a passionate artist manager with years of experience in the music industry. She's starting a girl group, and we want Santana to be in that girl group. Shelby will manage the girls. I have a contract here that I'll need to go over with both of you, but I can also answer any questions you might have."

Maribel was still frowning with confusion. "I still don't understand," she said. "How did you meet my daughter?"

It was then that Santana spoke up, trying to avoid eye contact with her mother. "You know that day the school called, you know, cause I skipped?" She asked, and Maribel nodded. "I went to this audition with Quinn. It was her idea and I was just going along for her but, um, I ended up auditioning."

Maribel looked back and forth from Santana to Jesse, still trying to process the conversation. It was the first time her daughter had displayed any interest in anything, and she wanted to encourage it. But at the same time, she didn't know anything about the music industry, and she was hesitant about putting her fifteen-year-old daughter's life and future in the hands of this man she'd just met, even if he seemed friendly and charismatic.

Jesse was determined to make sure that he didn't leave this part of Cincinnati without ensuring that Santana and her mother had signed the contract, and he knew he needed to be patient and calm. He leaned closer in his chair and spoke in a soft but confident voice. "Ms Lopez, I want to make it very clear that we are both on the same page here. I won't let anything happen to you _or _Santana. I'm happy to have Shelby call you and talk you through anything, but for now, I'd really like for you to read this contract and talk you through it."

Maribel contemplated the decision carefully, looking around the room. She looked at her own mother, still sitting on the couch next to Santana, and asked, "_Mami_, what do you think?"

Alma Lopez just frowned and shrugged, before gesturing to her granddaughter and saying, "It's up to her, _mija_."

"If it's what she wants," Maribel said, looking over at Santana. "If this is what you want, baby, I'll read this thing and I'll sign it."

Jesse grinned, trying not to appear too victorious. He took a copy of the contract and said, "Ladies, this has been an excellent meeting and it's great that we're all on the same page. I'll go through the contract and explain any legal terminology since I know you haven't got a lawyer right now. Just let me know if there's anything you need me to explain."

Santana tried to read the contract thoroughly but gave up after only a few paragraphs. Some of it seemed straightforward, but there were also a lot of legal terms and words she'd never come across at school or anywhere, so she stayed silent; the last thing she wanted was to come across as illiterate in front of Jesse. She was grateful that her mother was at least asking Jesse questions because she had no idea herself. All she could do was skim through the pages of the contract and wait. Eventually, Jesse pointed out all the spaces for her and her mother to sign. Jesse smiled at them the entire time and shook each of their hands before leaving.

Once Jesse had left the housing complex, he dialled Shelby's number.

"_Hello?"_

"Shelby?" Jesse said. "Jesse St James. I've just left Cincinnati."

"_And?"_

"They signed the contract."

"_Good."_

~.~

* * *

_November 13__th__, 2011. Orlando, Florida._

Shelby didn't normally conduct work meetings on Skype in her pyjamas from her house in Florida, but she felt it was an emergency.

"Schuester, we've got a problem." she stated, in a matter-of-fact tone, looking at Will's face on her laptop screen.

"_Come on, I _told_ you Jesse was the right man for the job. He got those contracts, didn't he?"_

"That's not it," Shelby replied. "Does the name Al Motta mean anything to you?"

"_Al Motta, used car salesman? Sugar Motta's father?" _Will asked, confused.

"Yes, Will, and he's asked me if the local news in Jerusalem can run a story on Britt and Sugar."

"_And?" _Will asked. _"What's the problem?"_

"What's the problem?" Shelby asked, incredulously. "The _problem_, Schuester, is that we can't have any media coverage on those girls until after we get them performance-ready. It's in the contract that they all signed. The contract _your _guy wrote up."

"_Oh," _Will said. _"So, you want me to talk to this Motta guy?"_

"It's fine, Will, I already explained it to him. I think he got it and he said he was calling off the story," Shelby reassured him. "But I think we need to get those girls to Atlanta sooner rather than later. We can't avoid this forever. People are going to start talking. I've spoken with Marley Rose; she's been writing for a minute and she's pretty keen to team up with a new act, but she's in Manhattan, so we need to get her down there for a week or two to meet the girls."

"_So, you want me to organise flights?" _ Will asked.

"Ah, now you're catching on," Shelby said, coolly. "Yeah, call up your travel agent, arrange their flights. Do what you have to do. Is your house ready for them?"

"_Well, considering that no one's been in it for the past year, I'd say so,"_ Will said. _"It's tidy and it's furnished."_

"Good. I knew there was a reason I wanted you on board," Shelby said, in an almost mocking tone, causing Will to chuckle softly. "Let me know when you've got flights organised, and I'll call the families."

"_Will do,"_ Will answered. _"How soon do you want them there?"_

"As soon as possible," Shelby said. "Just, please, make it happen."

~.~

* * *

_November 21__st__, 2011. Cleveland, Ohio._

"So," Shane Tinsley took a deep breath, trying to think of the right thing to say. "When will you be back?"

Mercedes shrugged. "I don't know, Shane."

"This whole thing got big fast, though."

"Yeah," Mercedes said. "I've never been on a plane before."

Shane laughed. "Neither have I. I don't know if I could. How do you think they stay up?"

Mercedes gave Shane the side eye. Truthfully, she didn't know the answer either, but she'd also never thought about it. "Maybe one day I'll write a song about it."

"You ever written a song before?" Shane asked.

Mercedes shook her head. "I thought about it," she said. "Just never wrote anything down, you know?"

Shane grinned. "Well, when you write _this _song, you know, the plane song, and you perform it at the Grammys, you got to tell people 'this song was inspired by Shane Tinsley, the sexiest guy alive from Cleveland, Ohio'."

Mercedes punched Shane on the arm and they both laughed. "You going to get with some cheerleader while I'm gone?" Mercedes joked.

Shane frowned. "Well, now you mention it …"

"You want to come round my place tonight?" Mercedes asked.

"You know the whole freaking congregation's at your place tonight, tomorrow night and every night until you get back," Shane said. "The news might not be allowed to talk about you yet, but that don't mean we can't talk to God about you."

The two teenagers smiled as they walked with linked arms towards Mercedes' house, trying not to think about the fact that they would be 700 miles apart in a matter of days.

~.~

* * *

_November 25__th__, 2011. John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Ohio._

"Mom, everyone's looking at us!" Brittany groaned, begging for her mother to release her from her tight grip.

Nearby, Sugar's mother was hugging her own daughter just as tightly. "Call me," Angela Motta said. "Every day. No arguments. And do your homework."

Sugar laughed. "Mom, I won't have time for _homework_."

"Well, you'll have to _make _time, won't you."

Tiffany Pierce sat at the boarding gate, desperately trying to stay awake past her bedtime, her head leaning on her father's shoulder. Adam Pierce, a truck driver, had taken time off work specially to see his daughter and niece go on their first flight. He turned to his younger daughter and said, "The girls are getting on the plane soon. You want to say goodbye to them?"

Tiffany nodded, got up and hugged her sister and her cousin. "Don't forget about me, okay?"

Brittany laughed. "Why would we forget about you?" She asked. "We're not going to be gone for that long. We'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, Tiff, we'll call you and send you cool presents." Sugar added.

Susan Pierce pulled Sugar into a hug and said, "Honey, make sure you two look after each other, okay? Don't get into any trouble, don't talk to random boys …"

"So, non-random boys are okay?" Sugar joked.

"It's not funny, Sug," Susan said, although she herself tried to stifle her own laughter. "It's time to step up and be responsible. We can't always be around to help you make decisions, so, when in doubt, think, 'what would Aunt Susan do'."

"Can we all get that on a t-shirt?" Angela Motta asked, as everyone laughed.

The airline attendant called time for boarding. The girls all hugged their parents one last time before they left to board the plane. They were seated across the aisle from each other; Brittany was seated next to Santana and Sugar next to Mercedes.

Once they had all sat down, Brittany turned to Santana and asked, "So, have you ever flown before?"

Santana shook her head, and Brittany smiled. "Same."

Mercedes then turned to the other girls and asked, "What did y'all do last night?"

"Pack." Brittany and Sugar said together.

Mercedes looked over at Santana, who nodded and said, "Yeah, same thing. I thought about doing that whole 'mess with everyone at school cause I'm not coming back' thing but I couldn't be bothered."

Brittany smiled and said, "We should all cheers."

"Cheers?" Mercedes frowned.

"You know, with a wine glass?" Brittany said, wondering why none of them got it. "Only we don't have wine glasses."

"We'll do it when we get there." Sugar laughed.

As the plane took off, Brittany noticed Santana gripping the armrests. She was honestly scared of the plane herself, so it was comforting that she wasn't the only one. She instinctively started rubbing small circles on the back of Santana's hand while rummaging through her pocket to find a packet of travel calm tablets. She felt her new friend start to relax a bit, and asked, "Do you want carsick tablets?"

"Huh?"

"My dad told me to always pack carsick tablets. Says they might come in handy."

"Oh," Santana said, accepting the tablets from Brittany. She took two, swallowed them and washed them down with water. "Thanks."

"It's all good."

The four girls started to fall asleep on the plane, none of them fully realising that they had just left their old lives as normal high school girls behind.

~.~

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the story. I hope to update this and my other stories soon (_Why the Road Turns_ is coming but I need to be in a particular headspace to update _Guilt_). As this is about the girls' experience in the entertainment industry, there may be some references in future chapters to some confronting situations which might warrant an M-rating, but for now, I'm keeping it T. Quinn and Finn will be in future chapters; they just weren't relevant to this one.


	3. Chapter Three: Building the Narrative

**Chapter Three: Building the Narrative**

_November 30__th__, 2011. Atlanta, Georgia. _

It was official. Will's house in Atlanta was the nicest house Brittany had ever been in. She'd never lived anywhere other than Jerusalem, Ohio, but she was certain that Atlanta was the most exciting place she'd ever been to. Her parents had saved up for months to give her a new camera for her birthday back in October, which felt like a lifetime ago, and she had taken to documenting every moment of her Atlanta experience, something that her new friends found incredibly endearing. Even though most of her footage was of the other girls doing regular household tasks, she secretly thought that when they would eventually become famous, people would line up in cinemas to watch what she had filmed.

"_Hi, everyone, I'm Brittany S Pierce – not to be confused with Britney Spears,_" Brittany had recorded after dinner on November 28th, while walking through the hallway to the kitchen, where Sugar was reading a geography textbook, and Santana was washing dishes. "_Can the two of you please tell the lovely people of the world what you're doing?_"

Sugar had ignored the camera, while Santana had said, "_Cleaning the kitchen, cause y'all are messy as fuck_."

Brittany had laughed, before looking directly at the camera to say, "_We're going to have to bleep some of this out_."

~.~

Mercedes had opted to go out and explore Atlanta. She'd never been there before, but she knew that some of her favourite artists were from there, and it was a city full of rich musical history. She often dragged the other girls out of bed, not wanting to go out by herself when she didn't know many people there, and just walk around and see sights. Her mother had told her that she could come and stay with them for the month of December, so she wanted to familiarise herself with Atlanta by then and impress her mother with her knowledge. Atlanta also had more to offer in terms of shopping, something that was a pleasant surprise and not something she was used to in Cleveland, and she knew once she'd arrived that she was going to have to up her sneaker game.

It was important to Mercedes and her family for her to stay connected to her religion, and she had made the decision to commit to going to church every Sunday. She knew that it was going to be difficult; her church was her safety net. She'd grown up in her entire life, with the same people all the time, but she also knew that her faith was important to her. It had never felt like an obligation for her, and she never saw a reason for that to have to change.

Every night, she thanked the Lord for the opportunity she'd been given, and for the new friendships she'd made. She'd developed a fondness for Sugar; the other girl wasn't normally someone she would have befriended, but she felt that they complemented each other well. Sugar was more laid back, while Mercedes was more cautious. Mercedes found Sugar's ditzy personality amusing, even though Sugar was older than she was and was also much more intelligent than she'd have others believe. She felt that she could be freer around Sugar, and she'd suspected that Sugar felt that about her as well.

~.~

Initially, Sugar had worried about the pressure of having to look after Brittany. She felt silly for thinking she had to; Brittany was confident, outgoing and generally had no problems adapting to new situations. Sometimes she forgot that Brittany was younger than her, and while she loved her cousin, she knew that Brittany could be absent-minded at the best of times, but Sugar had to admit Brittany was thriving in Atlanta and making the most of the opportunity. It almost made her jealous. _She_ was older, and _she'd _started performing first. This was _her _thing, and suddenly she had to compete with Brittany all over again.

Except she didn't _have _to. It was just a thing that naturally happened, no matter what.

"Are you girls looking after each other?" Angela Motta had said on one of their many Skype conversations. "I can't get down there until next week, so you'd better be behaving yourself until then."

"Yes, of course, Mom," Sugar had replied. "Don't worry, me and Britt are fine."

She often wondered when she lost her own identity and became "me and Britt". She suspected some time around second grade when Brittany had started school and the two of them became inseparable.

"What about school? Just because you're down in Atlanta doesn't mean that you can't finish your senior year."

Sugar had rolled her eyes. Her mother cared much more about school than she did. _Who needs school now_? She had thought. _Not me, and not these girls._ The only reason she did any work at all was because Shelby and Will had hired a tutor to supervise their academic programs. "Yes, Mom," she'd said. "Trust me, I'm basically swimming in homework."

"Good!" Angela had said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Your dad wants to know when your first show is?"

"Will and Shelby said we have to do heaps of rehearsals before we can do a show," Sugar had explained. "But we're putting some covers up on YouTube. Mercedes is helping me a lot with singing, and she's really good. And we've got this vocal coach, Cassandra, who's super funny."

Angela had smiled, and the two had said goodbye. _Mom's coming_, Sugar had thought, excitedly. _Mom's coming in a week. _

For the next few days, she threw herself into singing with Mercedes, studying for her geography test and writing her history essay, desperately seeking something to occupy her mind while she waited for her mother's impending arrival.

~.~

"When will I ever use quadratic equations? What's the point of them?" Santana asked, as Brittany stood over her shoulder and peered at the computer screen in front of them. Brittany shrugged. "I don't get this. Math is hard and I don't know why I have to do it."

"Why don't you just start on the linear equations?" Brittany suggested. She'd offered to help Santana with her math homework, thinking it would be no big deal, after all, they were both in sophomore year, even though she'd done Santana's algebra class back in seventh grade. She often helped her sister and even Sugar with math homework; Sugar was in the same math class as her at school and even she sometimes struggled with the content. Brittany felt like she'd completely underestimated how much help Santana actually needed with math, but she was patient and optimistic, and liked a challenge. Plus, it was an excuse for her to spend time with Santana, who she was starting to feel close to.

"I don't get those either." Santana replied, frowning at the computer screen. "You're actually good at this stuff. I'm not."

Brittany smiled. "It's cause I'm awesome," she joked, making Santana smile. "No, seriously, I think it's just practice. It's like a muscle. If you keep practising it over and over, you'll get better at it."

"You sound like my mom. She'd be all like 'this is why you need to go to school'." Santana joked, trying not to get emotional; thinking about home often made her tear up. She knew Mercedes' and Sugar's moms were going to visit, but she wished her own mother could too, even though she knew it probably wouldn't happen.

Brittany raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why don't you?" She cleared her throat, thinking that she might have touched a nerve, but Santana's facial expression didn't change, so she kept talking. "Go to school, I mean."

"I _can't_," Santana said, shrugging. Brittany started to look confused, and Santana explained, "I used to get in trouble all the time. One time, I got into a fight with this girl from down the street. I don't even remember what it was about, but next thing I know, she pulls a knife on me."

"Wait, seriously?" Brittany asked, incredulously. Santana nodded. "What happened after that?"

"I don't know," Santana replied, shrugging. "Didn't want to stick around to check if she was still there, you know? Funny thing was we were best friends back in sixth grade. Mom made me transfer to the 'good' school, and I met Quinn and Finn, and they're cool and all, but, you know, same shit, different building and all that."

"Yeah," Brittany nodded in agreement, even though she couldn't at all relate to what Santana had just told her. She didn't think stuff like that happened to kids her own age at school. She placed a comforting hand over Santana's and said, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. That sounds awful."

"It's fine," Santana replied, even though both she and Brittany knew it wasn't. "Are your parents coming to visit?"

Brittany shook her head. "Dad's a truck driver, so he's away for work a lot and Mom's got to look after my little sister. How about you?"

"My mom looks after my abuela." Santana explained. She knew her mother would come if she could, but she also knew her mother wouldn't be able to afford to fly over to Atlanta, but she wasn't about to admit that to Brittany. She also knew that her mother could never just leave her abuela at home.

"What about your dad?" Brittany asked, curious.

"In jail," Santana replied, nonchalantly, and Brittany immediately felt guilty for asking. Santana's eyes widened. She looked at Brittany apologetically and said, "It's okay. It's fine. You didn't know."

For a brief second, Brittany thought of asking why. She'd never known anyone who'd been in jail. In eighth grade, she'd attended the funeral of one of her friends' fathers, who'd died of cancer. She figured that it was best not to press the issue. So instead, she decided that she was going to distract Santana. "What's your favourite candy?"

"Reeses and M&Ms," Santana answered. "Why?" Brittany nodded, ran to the kitchen, and came back with one huge bag of each candy. "Britt, what's this for?"

Brittany grinned. "I think I might know I can help you with algebra."

~.~

* * *

_December 3__rd__, 2011. Atlanta, Georgia._

"So," Shelby Corcoran started, pouring herself a glass of water before offering the water jug to Will. "I need a progress update."

"You see them more than I do, Shelby," Will started. Shelby gave him a raised eyebrow, and he sighed. "Okay, then. They're working really hard. Cass said their harmonies are getting better."

"I know, and that's great, but you're in charge of their schoolwork, Will," Shelby said, typing up notes on her laptop. "Are you checking that?"

"Of course," Will answered. Shelby had given him the job of overseeing their academic studies and ensuring that the girls did at least two hours of school every weekday, and he was almost insulted that she thought he wasn't taking the role seriously. "They're all smart kids. I actually got Santana to submit an actual essay yesterday."

"Really?" Shelby asked, almost amused. _Okay, now I'm starting to get suspicious_, she thought. _There is no way that happened._

"Yeah," Will started, hastily. "Okay, I mean, it wasn't a _great_ essay, you know, we're not expecting _miracles_ here, but it was still an essay." _Sort of_, he thought. _She gave me a page on Macbeth littered with spelling mistakes and profanity, and I'm still not convinced she fully got the themes of the play, but Shelby doesn't need to know that. _

"Well, that's a relief," Shelby said. "I was beginning to doubt your competence, but you've proven me wrong. Don't get used to hearing that, though."

"So, Mrs Motta and Mrs Jones are there?" Will asked, choosing to ignore the slight on his academic supervision skills. Shelby nodded. "That's good."

"So, nothing major to report then?" Shelby asked. Will nodded, and Shelby continued to take notes on her laptop. "Excellent. I've got Holly coming in to chat with the girls, and then I want to get them together so we can film a cover and put it up on YouTube. We need these kids to have online presence, and it's really important that we set that up sooner rather than later."

"Why?"

Shelby cleared her throat. "I've got them a show."

~.~

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter. My apologies for not updating sooner; I am back at work and am currently up to my eyeballs in paperwork, however, I always have time for the fabulous Troubletones. Cassandra July is coming in the next chapter and to be honest, she might be the reason this story might have to be bumped up to an M rating, as the next chapter will contain some triggering themes.**


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